The Beast In The Beauty
by Northern-Southern Belle
Summary: A mental breakdown due mostly to the presence of her free-loading rascal brother Killian at her bridal shower before her wedding to Gaston leads to Belle to cause a four-car pile up and land in a psychologist's office where the discussion of the incident leads her to realize she loves Rumple more than the fiance she's marrying out of obligation to her father. One-shot.


Disclaimer: Only the plot is mine (although it's based on an episode of the show "Frasier " like many of my other Rumbelle one shots, the episode being the Daphne Moon-centric "Dark Side Of The Moon".)

 **And A/N: Belle and Killian are siblings in this story.**

"Okay," the psychologist said as she held up a picture with ink blots on it and gave Belle a look. "What does this look like to you?"

"A woman," Belle began. Then her expression darkened. "She's standing next to a man and it looks like she's threatening him with a knife."

"Okay," the doctor nodded after giving her a look, and then held up another ink blot. "What about this one?"

"A bottle of wine," Belle answered. "A _big_ bottle of wine." She pushed her dark hair out of her eyes. "I really could go for one right now, couldn't you?"

"Focus," the woman said patiently. "Next picture?"

"I don't even understand why we're playing this game," Belle huffed. "It seems so silly!"

"It might be to you, but it helps me understand what brought you here," she was told. "And what caused you to become so angry and hurt all those people."

"I don't know what you're talking about!" Belle cried. "I'm not an angry person! I've never had one bad day in my whole life!"

The judge thought differently," the psychiatrist replied. She pulled one more ink blot out.

"That one looks like a couple of bunnies clawing each other to death over a Lima bean," Belle said.

"All right, enough," the psychiatrist sighed. "I think I know where you are. I know there's lots of anger and I want to find out where it comes from. Let's start with your home life. You have a fiancé?"

"Yes," Belle nodded. "His name is Gaston. He's a nice enough man and perfectly decent to me. He even threw me a surprise bridal shower. That's when all this started."

"Now we're getting somewhere," the woman encouraged. "Proceed."

 _It had begun just a few days before. Rumple had asked her to come over and visit the new little cottage he'd built for himself by the shop._

" _It's much roomier now than just being crammed into that little apartment," he said. "Let me take your coat and then when I get back, we can start making that cake."_

" _All right," Belle smiled at him. "Take your time. I'm in no rush." He left and she let out a contented sigh. She loved spending time alone with Rumple like this. He was such a good man, no matter what some people said._

 _Then, all of a sudden, she heard a chorus of voices (including those of Rumple and her fiancé) call out, "Surprise!" She jumped into Rumple's arms cause he was closest to her, and then, blushing a little, stepped away and joined Gaston and the others as he smiled at her and said, "Welcome to your wedding shower. Are you surprised? You seem to be trembling." He put his arms around her. "Are you all right?"_

" _Yes, I'm fine," She nodded. "I'm absolutely blown away. This took me completely by surprise."_

" _Oh, really, Belle," Emma said. "You can admit it if you were on to us. You had to be."_

" _No," Belle shook her head and held Emma's eye. "You had me completely fooled."_

"We had drinks then," Belle continued. "I was really careful because I had decided to wear my favorite dress, a yellow one I only wear for special occasions. And I didn't want to get it messy. After that, we played a game where you divide into teams and make bridal gowns out of toilet paper. I can't remember what it's called."

"Toilet paper bridal gown," the psychologist told her in a weary voice.

"That's it!" Belle nodded. "Have you heard of it?"

"I'm familiar with it," the woman nodded as Belle straightened the crease in her jean skirt and shifted positions on the couch. "Continue."

" _So we played the game. I wasn't really in charge. It was an old "friend" of Rumple's (as he called her) named Zelena, who was in charge of the whistle._

" _Okay, time!" She called. "Everyone, show me your brides!"_

 _The three groups presented their brides. The first, with Gaston as the bride, only had bare-minimum in terms of the dress. The second group wasn't even done with theirs yet, and the third had Emma decked out in the most glorious dress made out of toilet paper that Emma had ever seen._

" _And take note," Archie said to Belle, who was smiling on the sofa. "I used the quilted kind for the bodice and the two-ply for the veil."_

" _Noted," Belle replied. She then looked everyone over. "Well, you all look great, but I think the winner will have to be team three!"_

 _They cheered and Belle's friend Ariel consoled Gaston as he assured her it was fine. "It's not your fault," he told her. "I should have been more radiant."_

 _As they cleaned up, Archie came up behind Belle and said, "For the next game, you think you could work on setting me up with your friend Ariel? She seems lovely."_

" _Well, I'll see what I can do," Belle promised. "But remember, I'm not really the one who's in charge here."_

 _Then things stopped and Gaston eagerly called Belle over, a smile on his face. "I have another surprise for you. I have brought your favorite relative to your shower."_

" _You have?" Belle asked eagerly. "My cousin Leroy?"_

" _No," Gaston shook his head. "Your brother. I thought you said you liked your brother."_

" _She really hates him," David from down the hall said. "I hardly ever talk to her and I knew that."_

 _Then, she heard the voice. "Hello in there! Thirsty man standing out in the hallway. Can I come in?"_

" _Killian," she whispered, her face going even more pale. "My god."_

 _Gaston's dark eyes were a bit troubled as he opened the door and Belle's older brother Killian stepped inside the house. "What a posh place," he said and looked around, and pushing his dark hair out of his blue eyes. "And hello, blue eyes!" He greeted his sister, putting her in a headlock. "Long time no see."_

" _There's a reason for that," Belle told him, glowering as he let her go. But he paid no attention as Rumple directed him to the sofa_

" _Thank you," he replied in reference to Killian's compliment. "Won't you sit down?" He then winced as Killian turned his head and spit, aiming for the trash can, but missing so it landed on the carpet. "Of course," he said. "But I think I'd like a drink first. Can anyone show me the way to the bar?"_

" _I can!" Emma replied, eagerly racing over to him. "Just follow me. And may I say I love your accent? It makes everything you say sound so sophisticated!"_

" _Oh, sure thing, love," he said, ogling her openly from behind with a grin on his face. "I'd follow you anywhere."_

 _When he was sitting down on the sofa and hanging his dirty boots over the arm, he looked at Gaston, saying, "I have to thank you for bringing me over here. It was good timing as I desperately needed to get away for a while."_

" _If you need a place to stay, you can stay with me," Emma smiled. "I'm at home all by my lonesome."_

" _But it wasn't supposed to be you at all!" Belle yelled at Killian. "Didn't it seem at all weird to you when he called you my favorite relative?"_

" _It did seem odd at first," Killian agreed and pulled out a cigarette. "But then I thought, 'You know, people go in and out of favor. Usually you like Leroy, but now it could be my turn'." He paused. "I think I need another drink." He got up, tripped over the edge of the carpet, and spilled his rum all over Belle's dress._

" _Oh, my god, my favorite dress, ruined! Are you, an idiot?" Belle cried. "Of course it's not your turn! I'd be perfectly happy if I never saw your lazy, freeloading face again!" She then burst into tears and Rumple took her hand and led her into the kitchen to calm down._

"So your fiance's surprise didn't work out so well," the psychologist interpreted. "What did you do with your brother then? Did you send him away?"

"I would have loved to, but if I had, I wouldn't have heard the end of it from our mother."

"I'm beginning to sense that your family is a cause of stress for you," the psychologist told her. "Am I right?"

"Well, isn't yours?" Belle wanted to know.

"They would be if I still talked to any of them," the woman answered. She started to laugh, but then saw that Belle wasn't, and cleared her throat. "Did it get any better once your brother was settled in?"

"No," Belle shook her head. "It just got worse."

 _Though he'd wanted badly to take up Emma's offer to stay with her, knowing his behavior with women made Belle insist that Killian stay with her kind neighbor Archie instead, however long that lasted._

 _And as she'd suspected, he didn't make it two days before Archie came into her apartment, a livid look on his normally placid face._

" _Hello!" She exclaimed, trying to keep her tone bright. "How are you?"_

" _I haven't slept a wink!" He told her. "Your brother made friends with David Nolan down the hall, you know, and they come over at night and watch Rugby! I didn't know there were things like that to watch between two and six in the morning! And don't get me started on the mess they leave in the kitchen after they order take out." He shuddered._

" _I'm sorry he's been such an imposition," Belle apologized, re-buttoning her red cardigan. "I'll come and get him."_

" _Thank you," Archie told her. "Thank you so much."_

 _It was then that Killian poked his head in the door, relieved to see Archie standing there. "I don't mean to sound rude, mate," he told him. "But my friend David has offered me a place in his Winnebago. You don't mind, do you?"_

" _No!" Archie replied, his voice full of relief. "Go ahead and go! I'm glad you made friends! But wait!"_

 _Killian paused. "What? Are you shocked because I just got out of the shower?"_

" _No, I'm shocked because that's my bathrobe!" Archie cried._

" _You want it back?" Killian asked and untied it as Belle and Archie started to avert their eyes. "Don't worry, I'm wearing shorts under it." He then proved he was indeed wearing yellow boxer shorts with blue polka dots on them._

" _Oh, my god!" Archie cried again, looking disgusted. "Those are mine too!"_

" _I didn't think you'd mind," Killian replied. "I found them on the floor."_

" _Just…just keep them both," Archie told him, feeling disgusted. "I can always get others."_

" _All right," Killian shrugged. "Thanks a lot, mate."_

"This is all well and good, but when are we going to get to the part where you caused the four car pile up?" The psychiatrist asked Belle. "That's what I'm most interested in."

"I'm getting there," Belle assured her. "Hold your horses."

 _It all came to a head the night before Belle was supposed to meet Gaston's parents. She had the perfect evening planned, since everyone else had gone out: manicure, bath, facial. She was in her bathrobe with a cleansing mask on her face and her hair pulled back messily when there was a knock at the door. She opened it and there was her brother standing on the other side with a group of people._

" _Well, aren't you a sight, Blue Eyes?" He asked her, trying not to laugh. "You know, if you took your teeth out and put them in the pocket of that robe, you'd look like our mother!"_

" _I thought you were watching the game down at the bar tonight!" Belle cried. "I was planning on having a nice evening to myself so I can be ready when my fiancé brings his parents to meet me tomorrow!"_

" _Well, the cable went out at the bar, so we thought we'd watch the game here," Killian replied. "Would you mind fixing us up some snacks?"_

 _Belle groaned and brought out the chip bag, some mini hot dogs, and a case of beer. Then, when she was in the bathroom wiping the mask off, the doorbell rang._

" _Oh, what is it now?" She growled. She opened the door and Archie poked his head in. "Someone stole my antique beer stein!" He strode over to Killian. "Was it you?"_

" _Here it is," Belle said, finding it under the sink. "Sorry, Doctor Hopper."_

 _Then the doorbell rang again and Belle yelled at Killian to get it. He opened the door and Emma was on the other side. "Ready to go, Killian?" She asked him. She was wearing heels and a slinky black cocktail dress along with a come hither smile._

" _Go where?" He asked._

" _Killian, you idiot!" She cried her face quickly changing. "We made a date and now you've forgotten? I bet you don't even know who I am, do you? Emma? From the bridal shower?"_

" _Oh, yes!" Killian nodded. "Just let me grab my coat and then we'll go."_

 _Emma heaved an annoyed sigh and waited as Killian grabbed his coat._

 _Then the doorbell rang again. But this time, no one answered it because they were too absorbed in the football game. Finally with her mask half washed off, Belle answered it, a bottle of beer in hand._

" _What do you want?" She snapped._

" _Hi, honey!" Gaston greeted her. He then came inside with his parents walking behind him, looking at her with shock. "Why don't I take that beer now, all right?"_

" _No!" Belle cried and hugged it to herself. "I've had it with this whole damn world and I wish everyone would just leave me the hell alone! If you want anything to drink, get it yourself!"_

" _No, you don't understand!" Gaston cried and pointed to the two people he was with who looked terrified. "I brought my parents to see you."_

" _Sorry," his mother told her. "We should have called first."_

" _I don't mean to be so under dressed," Belle apologized to them, trying to lighten up. "I'm usually not like this. Would you excuse me while I talk to your son?" She then hauled Gaston off to the kitchen and said, "I thought I wasn't going to meet your parents until tomorrow! Look at me!"_

" _I wanted to surprise you," he told her._

" _What, because your last surprise went so well?" Belle cried. "Damn it, use your head! I still need to get my dress out of the dryer." She went to do that while Gaston and the others did damage control. She thought she'd calm down in the laundry room, but no such luck._

" _Look at my dress!" She cried to everyone in the apartment when she got back, holding up the wrinkled yellow dress now badly stained with bleach. "Someone pulled it out of the dryer to put their things in and it fell into a puddle of bleach. It's even more ruined now." She laughed. "But I got them back. I took all their clothes out of the dryer when they were done and threw them on the dirty, wet floor!" She began laughing like a demented person._

 _David then went to get Rumple, who tried to calm her down and keep her gaze on him as he held her. "Look at me," he told her firmly. "Look into my eyes. It's going to be all right. You're safe and among friends."_

" _No!" Belle cried. "Don't you pull those tricks on me! Just let me be angry, damn it!"_

 _It was then that the woman whose clothes she'd thrown on the floor came to scold her._

" _I saw what you did!" She yelled. "I saw you take my clothes out of the dryer before they were done and throw them all over the dirty, wet floor! Have you lost your mind? What person does that?"_

" _I'm sorry, were your clothes not quite dry yet?" Belle asked, taking her laundry basket from her, feeling that she was definitely at the end of her rope. "Let me help." She then threw roughly half the clothes in the fire as everyone watched her nervously._

" _Stop!" The woman cried. "Just stop!"_

" _You'll have to excuse her moods," Killian told the woman. "She's been eating a lot lately and now she's insane. I think she's in a delicate condition."_

 _That remark didn't help Belle's mood much. "You said you wanted them dry?" she continued, standing by the open window. "Let's air dry them!" She dumped the rest of the clothes out the window and soon, there was a honk and couple of crashes, causing Belle to come back to her senses._

" _Oh, my god!" She cried, running to Rumple as he threw his arms around her. "What have I done?"_

"So that's how I started the pile up," Belle finished. "Get it? It was totally provoked, and not normal for me at all. Just sign that little paper there so the judge knows I'm sane and we'll all get on with our lives."

"Just one more question," the psychologist told her. "You know that dress you were wearing that's your favorite? The one that got ruined? Why were you wearing it the night of your shower if you didn't know you were going to _have_ a shower? Just what were you expecting when you went over to Rumple's house?"

 _"Well, hello, there!" Rumple greeted as Belle came in the house. "I'm so glad you didn't have any other plans tonight."_

" _Yes indeed," Belle nodded. "And I remembered the recipe for my mother's toffee pudding, just like you asked. But you can be honest with me: You didn't bring me here to make pudding on a Saturday night, did you?"_

" _You must think I'm horribly transparent," Rumple told her, flushing a little._

" _Don't worry about it," she said and kissed his cheek even though she was engaged to Gaston. She and Rumple had been close friends long enough that she could get away with that. "It got me here, didn't it?"_

" _Yes," Rumple smiled. "I suppose it did. I'll take your coat and after I've hung it up, we'll get started. And that is a lovely yellow dress you're wearing."_

" _Thank you," Belle told him. "I only wear it when I'm doing something special."_

 _He left to hang her coat up, and that was when she'd heard that fateful word: "Surprise!"_

But what does that _mean_ , my wearing my favorite dress to see Rumple?" Belle asked.

"Could it be that you like him?" Asked the psychologist, pushing a strand of red hair out of her face. "Or love him, even?"

"Of course not!" Belle cried, feeling scandalized. "I love Gaston! Well, not really, but I made a promise to him and it would be wrong to break it…wouldn't it? You have to tell me what to do!"

"I think you know," the psychologist told her. "Deep down, you know. You just have to decide if those feelings are important enough to you to break off a wedding over." She paused and looked at the clock. "I'm sorry we can't go further with this, but we're out of time. You can take a chocolate chip cookie before you go. I have a lot." She held out the plate.

Belle frowned at her and took three cookies. "What do I have to do to get some _real_ answers? Murder someone?!"

"It depends on if someone died in that pile up," The psychologist replied. "You might have already done it." She then left, leaving Belle to think about the future of her romantic life on her own after all that her meddling and questions had brought to the surface.

"She's right," Belle said to herself. "I know what I have to do." She went home and called Gaston to tell him that the wedding was off and then went back to Rumple's, knocking on his door and saying, "I think I love you." She paused. "No, I know I do. I wouldn't break off my wedding if I wasn't sure. What do you say we make that pudding for real now? You still have the recipe, don't you?"

"You called off the wedding?" Rumple asked and had to lean against the door frame. "For _me_? Why would you do that?"

"Cause I think…I think we could really have something and I don't want to pass up that chance," Belle told him. "Do you?"

"No," Rumple nodded. "I don't want to miss our chance either, now that you're free. But could you take off your ring first?"

"Oh, sorry!" Belle replied and stuck it in her pocket. Then she kissed him, and after he picked her up, they shut the door behind them and went to make pudding.

 **The End**


End file.
